Joyful noise!

Lutheran, The, Sep 1999 by Hoffman, Mark

Lutherans at Creation '99 sing praises of hip hymns

'I ain't knocking

the hymns,

I just want something

with a beat.'

Larry Norman, Why Should the Devil Have

All the Good Music?

The rock musician played Amazing Grace on a jarring, screeching electric guitar, issuing a wake-up call to the tens of thousands of Christians streaming into the sundrenched natural amphitheater for morning worship on the last day of Creation '99. Lincoln Brewster's rendition proclaimed to all those with ears to hear that hymns, even sacred ones, can be more hip. "I don't care how the message is getting out as long as people hear it," said Mark McAllister of Peace Lutheran Church, Glen Burnie, Md. "Most Lutherans are too busy sitting on their hands. They need to loosen up and raise their hands in praise."

McAllister and his wife, April, and their two children traveled four hours to join 80,000 other Christians from a dozen states for four days of worship and praise. They met on a gently sloping hill called Agape Farm in Mount Union, Pa.

Celebrating its 20th year, Creation is the largest Christian music festival in the nation. Creation ' 99 featured popular contemporary Christian recording artists including the newsboys, dc talk, Jars of Clay and Michael W. Smith, as well as inspirational speakers such as Pat Mesiti, Dawson McAllister, Joshua Harris, Laurie Polich and Buster Soaries. Some Christians came to be entertained, others enlightened-few came away unchanged.

"As a Lutheran pastor, I found it invaluable to expose kids to contemporary Christian music," said Bob Machamer, pastor of New Life Lutheran Church, New Tripoli, Pa. "It's the best worship setting for young people I've ever seen. The kids who have gone to Creation make up the core of our youth group."

Creation re-energizes individuals and congregations, said Machamer, who made his ninth trip to the event with his wife, Jean, and other parishioners. New Life's membership, now at 390, has more than doubled in the past two years, he said, because of its growing youth ministry and contemporary services.

Creation '99 is a unifying experience. More than half of the 40,000 participants camped side by side in tents, lean-tos and campers. Lines were everywhere: to use the portable toilets, to collect water and to take showers. The collective body of Christ may have been a bit sweaty or sunburned in the June heat, but nary an angry word or voice was raised.

Spread out over more than 500 acres of farmland, the tents resembled a refugee camp-upscale, to be sure, with propane stoves, CD players, portable showers, air-conditioned cars and generous, sharing neighbors. In truth, it was a refugee camp of sorts, crowded with people who had found refuge in Christ.

Early risers often gathered for Bible study or devotions, while children danced a Christian-flavored version of the Hokey-Pokey with the catch-all daily to qualify for half-priced admission ($30 vs. $62).

"We are a fairly new senior youth group. Being together that week brought us closer," said Eckert, whose husband, Bill, took care of the campsite.

For Eckert, joining 80,000 people in singing an a capella version of Rich Mullins' Awesome God countless times during the event was unforgettable.

Our God is an awesome god.

He reigns from heaven above,

With wisdom, power and love.

Our God is an awesome god.

"When you sing songs like that-from the heart-you aren't reading out of a hymnal," Eckert said. "It's so much more."

Mindy Rottmund from St. Peter Lutheran Church, Neffsville, Pa., welcomed the freedom that came with the worship. "I like the structure of the Lutheran church and its theology, but at Creation you have the freedom to express your love for God in an individualized manner," said Rottmund, who brought her children, Jamie, 13, and Michele, 11. "As a schoolteacher and the mom of two budding teenagers, I appreciated hearing the messages addressed to the youth."

The most dramatic youth-oriented message was a silent testimony to the murdered Columbine High School students. The three memorial crosses that were erected in Colorado were transported to the Pennsylvania hillside.

More than 500 youth wore special T-shirts bearing the legend, "She Said YES" as a tribute to Cassie Bernall, 17, who was killed after she proclaimed her faith in Christ.

Wendi Wetzel, whose husband, Larry, is pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, Pa., attended the first Creation festival as a teenager. "We went 20 years ago for ourselves," she said. "Now we're going for the kids. We already use contemporary music in the senior high Sunday school class, but we need to do more." She said they plan on hosting a Christian rock concert and may hire a youth leader.

Cindy Browning from Christ Lutheran Church, Madley, Pa., could be seen in the crowd, swaying with the music. Once, while The Katinas, a Samoan rock band, sang, she rocked back and forth, holding her daughter, Heidi, tightly.

You're all I want.

You're all I ever needed,

You're all I want.

Help me know you are here.

"I don't think our church is ready to incorporate contemporary music, but we need to do something," Browning said. "You don't feed a baby roast beef and potatoes, you give him milk. In much the same way, let's not give our youth hymns when they need and want contemporary music."